Thank you Dane for that kind introduction and for all you do on behalf of our nation's governors.

I am very pleased to be here at the Alliance for Excellent Education. Ever since we launched our effort in Virginia last year to reform and strengthen high school, I have been aware of your work and eager to speak with you.

There are few organizations in America that have given high school reform and adolescent literacy the kind of intensive focus that you have, and I commend you for it.

I also want to commend specifically the Leeds family for all they have done to promote this organization. Together with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation and others, they have built this Alliance from the ground up, and all of us in government who care about education thank them for it.

As Dane mentioned, I am the new Chairman of the National Governors Association. The coming year presents an enormous opportunity for the nation's governors to reassert their leadership on education policy. Two things have prompted me to say that.

First, we have a group of governor who have stepped up and are extremely eager to press new and innovative ideas in this field.

At the National Governors Association, Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas and Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota lead our education committee. They have demonstrated in a short time that they will be extremely effective leaders in promoting the bold, new ideas that governors are developing in their respective states.

Second, the timing is right for Governors to step forward as never before on education policy.

The 109^th Congress will reauthorize the Higher Education Act, the No Child Left Behind Act, the Perkins Vocational Education Act, and the Individual with Disabilities Education Act.

For the issue I am going to talk about this evening -- high school reform -- there are enormous opportunities for the Governors to have an impact. But on other issues as well -- such as funding for special education, accountability and No Child Left Behind -- we have a chance to forge a stronger and more productive partnership with Congress and the administration.

I know there are many people from Capitol Hill who are here with us today, and I want to pledge that I will do everything I can as Chairman of the NGA to achieve that.

Beyond the legislative calendar, I am very encouraged by the fact that there is growing interest in high school reform here in Washington.

President Bush and Senator Kerry have expressed a commitment to the issue before us today. Whoever is elected president is certain to place a new-found emphasis on strengthening high schools.

I note also that Senator Patty Murray of Washington has championed the PASS Act (Pathway for All Students to Succeed), and Congressman Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX) has introduced companion legislation in the House. These bills authorize literacy coaches, additional counselors and targeted help for low performing schools. I commend Senator Murray and Congressman Hinojosa for their leadership.

This evening, I want to speak with you for a few minutes about my own interest in this issue -- some of the steps we're taking in Virginia --what we're doing as part of my Chairman's Initiative at the National Governors Association on redesigning the American High School -- and what I expect the results will be.

As everyone in this room knows, there is an urgent need to improve high schools in this country. Most of us are familiar with the phenomenon of "senioritis." But the problem is far more serious than seniors who are bored or disengaged, and it is supported by a wealth of empirical evidence:

• Only 70% of ninth graders in public school complete high school in four years; barely half of African American and Hispanic ninth graders complete high school in four years;
• College readiness rates in this country are abysmal. In the Class of 2001, only 32% of the class earned a diploma; completed a minimum of college prep classes and demonstrated basic reading proficiency;
• Nationally only 212 out of 1000, 11^th and 12^th grade students, are enrolled in Advanced Placement classes;
• Only 20 states, representing less than half (48%) of the country's high school students administered high school exit exams last year;
• Only 31% of the high schools in this country offer vocational training that results in a skill certificate.

Even with these persistent statistics, there has been no true reform of high school in 100 years.

In Virginia, the problems are no less severe. As I visited with teachers, students and parents across the Commonwealth during my campaign and first year in office I heard the same message: we aren't giving adolescents and young adults the tools they need to succeed.

High School isn't rigorous enough for those who are ready to achieve on the one hand. And on the other hand, it leaves too many kids behind who are at-risk.

Make no mistake: our failure to address this issue in a rapidly changing economy will have profound effects on our economic competitiveness going forward. We can't afford to leave a generation of students behind.

So last year, we launched a three-prong approach to high school reform in the Commonwealth. For college bound juniors and seniors, we have vastly expanded the opportunities for students to earn college credits while still in high school.

We achieve this through dual enrollments with community colleges, new "virtual AP" courses, and distance learning. This fall, our public and private institutions concluded an historic agreement with the state that provides a core group of courses that will be accepted at virtually all our institutions in the state.

Many of our school jurisdictions already have strong AP and IB programs, but there was little uniformity in what courses would be accepted where. In addition, dual enrollment courses taken at our community colleges weren't always accepted as they should have been.

Our Commonwealth College Course Collaborative changes that.

It brings uniformity and predictability to what had been a patchwork system.

It provides a core group of courses that will be accepted at any college or university in Virginia for required degree credit.

And it shines a needed light on these opportunities for all our students, particularly those in smaller, rural communities.

By taking these measures, we will make the senior year more relevant and challenging; ease enrollment pressures in our system of higher education and save students and their families up to $5000 in reduced tuition costs.

For students who are going straight to work after graduation, we are providing the opportunity for them to earn an industry recognized certification in their chosen vocation, such as electronics or auto mechanics.

Some of this training will be conducted after graduation with the full support of the state. An industry certification allows a graduate to increase their earning power by as much as $8000 per year.

In exchange for the state support they will receive to earn an industry certification, we get a promise from them to stay in school and graduate. This started as a pilot last year with 250 students. It is being expanded this year.

Finally, we have implemented aggressive intervention to help students at risk of failing to complete our standard tests required for graduation.

We call this program Project Graduation and I am proud that it has been an enormous success. Last year was the first full year when our seniors in Virginia had to complete high stakes testing in order to graduate. Last year, as we approached this new deadline in our standards of learning program, there was pressure to retreat, just as some other states did.

But in Virginia, we took a different course. Project Graduation represents an aggressive effort by state government to intervene and help those students at risk of failure. Project Graduation combines regional summer academies, expanded access to online tutorials, distance learning opportunities, and the dissemination of best practices to help students learn and SUCCEED on these tests.

Approximately 3000 students participated in Project Graduation during the first year alone, and more than three-fourths of these students graduated in June 2004. These were all students who were at risk when they enrolled in the program.

I visited some of our summer academies and visited with the students after they had taken the SOL tests they needed for graduation. To see the look on the face of an 18 year old kid who has cleared the last hurdle for graduation is an enormous reward for our effort.

I am pleased with the success our programs in Virginia, but they are no means unique.

It's fair to say that my colleagues are equally concerned about high school achievement and are eager to give students the kinds of choices that will make a difference in their futures. That's in part why I have made "Redesigning the American High School" my chairman's initiative for the NGA.

NGA Vice Chairman Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, along with Governor John Baldacci of Maine, and Governor Bob Taft of Ohio, have agreed to serve on my task force during the next year.

Our goal is to begin to put into motion, in as many states as possible, the actions that are needed to move forward on system-wide high school reform.

Our work during the next year will be supported by a generous grant to the Center for Best Practices at the National Governors Association from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Together with the Alliance for Excellent Education, the Gates Foundation has been leading the way in this country for high school reform and their generous support of innovation in schools and school districts across America is transforming education in this country.

It is my goal that by next summer, at the National Governors Association Annual Meeting in July, we have identified a good number of governors who agree to take the actions necessary in their states to redesign their high schools so they are better serving the students, parents and teachers.

The NGA will be working with me to provide as much assistance as we can to the governors who want to move forward. I will develop a "Top 10" list of action steps for all of the governors based upon the work we do in the next year to identify "best practices." Specifically, we'll be looking to find the best programs in the following areas:

First: Most states need to put collaborative agreements between in place between high school and post-secondary institutions to align their curriculums. The goal is to provide every student with an opportunity to earn postsecondary credit or begin work towards an industry credential while in high school. College-level work needs to be fully transferable to public colleges and universities.

Second: Too many states have been unable to administer high school exit exams because, frankly, they know too many of their high schools would flunk the test. States need to put in place system-wide intervention and remediation programs so seniors can pass these tests--but more importantly so we know that they are ready to make the transition to college or a good job. If not, we'll continue to experience a decline in college graduation rates, while businesses look elsewhere for skilled workers.

Third: We are going to develop and recommend a common, national definition for drop-out and graduation rates that governors can use to compare their progress to other states. There is no way to know if we are succeeding if we can't adequately measure our progress. At present no state has a tracking system in place.

As part of our initiative we will be convening town hall meetings in cities around the country to discuss these reforms with parents, students, business leaders and educators.

In November I will ask all of the governors' education advisors to join me for an institute to focus on what their state needs to do to support new high school options. I want these advisors to go back to their states, and work on a preliminary plan for high school reform with their respective governor.

In February, at the NGA Winter Meeting in Washington D.C., I will be convening a national education summit focused on redesigning the American high school with the governors and other major education organizations so the governors can fine tune their state plans with input from the best experts in the country.

And, finally, but most importantly, I want to get serious and relevant feedback from the students--specifically senior high school students. If the kids we are trying to help, and their parents, don't see the value of redesigning high school, we are wasting our time.

We began that process last month at George C. Marshall High School in Falls Church, Virginia, where I joined about 20 students for a roundtable discussion about the senior year -- their expectations -- their frustrations -- and what we can do to better promote their success. I was struck by how closely their comments mirror what we sense instinctively.

I think the voice of the students has been missing in this conversation about high school reform that has been going on for some time among the experts and policymakers. I am making it my mission to hear from as many students in the Class of 2005 as I can, so their voices are heard and their input is incorporated into our strategy.

I have been energized from the positive reaction I have received from my fellow governors and I look forward to this time next year when I can show you state-by-state results.